News & Public Affairs

According to a spokesperson for Tampa International Airport, two flights arrived in Tampa earlier this week to deliver 36 seriously injured earthquake victims from Haiti. But the economic impact of the influx of Haitians is a concern for the state.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned Monday that the US is considering allowing more Haitian immigrants into the country, due to the devastation of the island nation from the earthquake two weeks ago. Angel Parham is an assistant sociol...

While the Tampa Bay Lightning practiced inside the St. Pete Times Forum for their game tonight, business owners and environmentalists were around the corner at the Regional Energy Management and Sustainability Forum.

Sandra Kling is a doctorate student at the University of South Florida. Kling also serves as chief environmental scientist for Eco Asset Solutions, a Tampa Bay sustainability advisory firm. Klingâs expertise is in greenhouse gas management and climate policy. This morning s...

Because of a state law past last year, counties may soon be imposing a different type of fee on new homes. This morning in Tampa government representatives, attorneys, developers, and community activists met for the Hillsborough County Mobility Fee public forum.

Peter Aluotto, Director of the Hillsborough County Planning & Growth Management Department said there will be advantages under the new law, SB 360 that requires that counties study mobility fees.

Water restrictions, a spike in population, below-normal rainfall â these are just a few of the reasons Tampa Bay is in the midst of what some USF professors are calling a âwater crisisâ. Last night, at the USF College of Public Health Auditorium, a group of concerned scholars met to present their research on one way the city may be able to combat rapidly depleting aquifers.

However ironic it may be for a metropolitan area surrounded by water to lack it, the consensus is in â Tam...

Texas has some of the worst air pollution in the country, but some Texans have been working to change that. Last night a local church showed the documentary Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars. The film shows how politicians and CEOs joined faith based and community groups in opposing the construction of 19 power plants in Texas. Coal company TXU would have built 11 of those plants, but with pressure from the community groups, the company built only three.

The line outside the Bob Martinez Sports Center wound throughout the University of Tampa campus. It reportedly had begun forming in the early morning hours. Most in line, like UT music major Alison Weinstien, were elated that the President would come to town on the heels of his State of the Union address.

Some, like Curtis, an engineer from Tampa, wanted to hear concrete ways on how the President plans to approve the economy.

Deborah Pierce is a grandmother from Lutz. She was turned away from the Obama Town Hall meeting even though she had stood in line for hours today and had a ticket to the event. ââ¦I was turned away at the door,â she said.

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio greeted President Obama when he arrived on Air Force One at MacDill Air Force Base. After his speech, the Mayor predicted that the federal government would eventually fund the remaining cost of the high-speed rail line to Orlando.

Iorio has been a major proponent of the high-speed rail connection between Tampa and Orlando that will be partially funded through $1.25 billion in federal Recovery Act money.

Last night in his State of the Union address, President Obama said last week's ruling removing campaign spending limits
on corporations and unions would "open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations" to influence elections.

Siting in the audience, Justice Samuel Alito, who was in the majority in the opinion, shook his head at the President's statement.

Joining us now is attorney David Cobb who is with a group called [MoveToAmend.org](http://www.movetoamend....

In his state of the Union address last night, President Barack Obama said that Florida will receive stimulus funding for a high speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando. Obama says projects like the bullet train will put Americans to work building the infrastructure of tomorrow.

Obama: âFrom the first railroads to the interstate highway system, our nation has always been built to compete. Thereâs no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains, or the new factories that ...

Noted historian Howard Zinn passed away yesterday. He died of a heart attack in California at age 87. Zinn is best known for his book A Peopleâs History of the United States. Zinnâs last public appearance in Tampa was in 2004, shortly after George W. Bush defeated John Kerry in the Presidential race. He appeared at the University of South Floridaâs main campus in Tampa.

Former State House Speaker Marco Rubio campaigned in Downtown St. Pete today, just ahead of President Obamaâs State of the Union address. He brought with him a message that he and his supporters aim to rail against the Obama Administrationâs agenda, which he says is characterized by spending of billions of dollars it doesnât have.

Rubio: "We will be an alternative. We can go to Washington, DC. We will stand up to this agenda. We will offer a clear alternative to it."